


Paw Prints On Your Heart

by prisonofmemories



Category: Bright (2017)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Protect Nick Jakoby Squad, Team How Are Your Holes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 16:48:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13392042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prisonofmemories/pseuds/prisonofmemories
Summary: Nick Jakoby goes to a cat café.





	Paw Prints On Your Heart

It had been a few weeks since Nick Jakoby first heard about the phenomenon ‘cat café’. The idea fascinated and excited him; he loved animals, but being on the force and working irregular hours made him hesitant to get a cat of his own. He’d feel guilty about leaving it home alone. With the cat cafés he could visit and be around as many cats as he liked, but he couldn’t help feeling a little apprehensive about visiting one. There were a few in the city already, but having driven past them while on duty he had only seen human and elven customers inside. He wasn’t sure an orc would be welcome.

Today was his day off, and he’d decided to visit one no matter what. He picked the one closest to home and walked in quietly, slightly hunched over, hoping they would just let him sit and enjoy the presence of those graceful little creatures without bothering him. To his surprise, people seemed too busy with the cats to pay attention to the orc walking past, and Nick sighed with relief. He quickly chose a comfy chair somewhere in the back of the café, where the light was a bit dimmed. Hopefully people wouldn’t notice him for a while. 

The moment he sat down, a small cream-colored cat with long hair and blue eyes strolled up to him and jumped on the side table next to him, seemingly sizing him up with a haughty air. 

“Hey there,” Nick said softly. He didn’t dare move too much, afraid of scaring it off. He was still a little unsure whether he was even allowed to be there, but the presence of the little cat made him feel less anxious.

Suddenly he felt first one, then two paws on his arm, the cat raising itself up to eye-level to further inspect the new visitor. Feeling confident the cat wasn’t running off, Nick slowly turned his head towards it and was rewarded with a headbutt to the face followed by some very enthusiastic purring before the cat unceremoniously climbed on his lap and settled there as if this was a daily occurence. He started to stroke the cat gently, enjoying the feel of its soft fur beneath his fingers. 

“You’re like a tiny cloud, aren’t you?” he murmured. Nick could feel himself relax, the small cat's warm body making him forget his surroundings for a little while. The cat seemed to enjoy being petted by Nick as much as he enjoyed doing it, purring continuously and occasionally pushing its head into Nick’s hand when he’d found a particularly good spot. It felt good to have contact with another creature without getting judged for his appearance.

“Excuse me? Sir?”

Nick’s head shot up. One of the serving girls was standing in front of him, pen and notepad in hand, eyeing the unusual couple curiously. “Would you like to order something?”

He’d expected to hear “sir, I’m kindly asking you to leave” so he opened and closed his mouth a few times before responding. 

“Uh...oh, yes! I’d like a coffee, please. Thank y-ow!” The cat chose this exact moment to get up, turn around, and start kneading its front paws right into Nick’s stomach, nails digging in mercilessly. 

The girl giggled. “Yeah, she does that. You can push her away a little if she’s hurting you.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Nick smiled. “I’m a police officer, I’ve felt worse.” Still purring loudly, the cat settled back into his lap and stared at him expectantly. 

“She really likes you! She can be a bit picky with people but she followed you the moment you walked in,” the serving girl said. “I think she wants you to continue petting her,” she mock-whispered behind her hand, smiling. 

“You saw me walking in? You’re not...er, it’s not a problem that I’m here?” Nick asked a little hesitantly, gently stroking the cat and glancing around the café at the other visitors.

The girl scoffed. “Well, you’re the first orc I’ve seen here, but the cats don’t judge so I won’t either. As long as you treat the animals with kindness you’re alright in my book,” she grinned.

Relief washed over him. “Thank you. Really,” he said. Nick wasn’t really used to smalltalk--people generally didn’t talk to him for long--but curiosity got the better of him. “Um, can I ask what kind of cat this is? Her fur is so much softer than what I’m used to from the neighborhood cats, it’s like I’m petting silk.”

The girl’s features lit up and she took a seat on the chair across from him, clearly passionate about the cats in the café and excited to tell him all about them. “She’s a Birman cat! Legend says they’re sacred, touched by a blue-eyed goddess. Floof definitely thinks she is, she loves being the center of attention,” she smirked. “Total princess. Throws a tantrum when things don’t go her way. But also super cuddly as you’re experiencing right now.”

Nick listened raptly. He was a little bit in love with this cat already. Although… “Floof? Her name is Floof?”

“Not really,” the girl replied, laughing. “She’s a pedigree cat so she has some ridiculously complicated name no one cares to remember. All the other cats around here are just regular short-haired house cats, so we kept calling her the floof and it kind of stuck. Or Her Royal Floofiness if she’s being particularly supercilious.”

Nick laughed out loud at that. “So much personality in such a tiny creature,” he marveled.

The serving girl smiled as she got up. “Stay as long as you like. And please come back whenever you want! I’ll go get your coffee now, you keep cuddling. You both look like you’re enjoying yourselves.”

He thanked the girl as she walked away before turning right back to running his fingers through Floof’s silky fur, all of his attention on what he already secretly thought of as his cat. Floof closed her eyes and purred with approval, and Nick settled back comfortably in his chair, feeling warmth spreading through his chest as the cat echoed his movements by resting her tiny head against his stomach. 

He didn’t notice that the girl had brought him his coffee, or that she kept checking in on him from a distance, a smile on her face as she watched this broad-shouldered, tough-looking but oh so sweet and gentle orc cuddle and coo over a 6-pound creature that looked more like a stuffed toy than an actual cat. 

He did notice the phone number scribbled on his receipt, but only when he got home. For a moment he was confused, but then it dawned on him and he blushed, tips of his ears twitching a little. 

He knew where he’d be going on his next day off.

**Author's Note:**

> I modeled Floof after my own cat Lotje, who I do actually call Floof on a regular basis. The only difference is that Lotje isn’t picky AT ALL, she’s a total slut who will lie on her back with her legs spread to demand tummy rubs from literally anyone.  
>   
> 
> 
> her ‘bitch give me attention NOW’ face  
> 


End file.
